Agriculture on the rebound in SVG

Food exports from St Vincent and the Grenadines increased during the first month of 2022, signalling an evident recovery in the agriculture sector of this Caribbean country, following the severe impact of La Soufriére volcano eruptions in 2021.

 A situational update from the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA), noted that in total there were 42 types of exported agricultural and fisheries products, including tubers, vegetables, fruits, spices and lobster amounting to 516,753 kilos with a value of $1,301,317.

These were sold to 13 countries in January, according to data disseminated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour, IICA said.

 The hemispheric organisation said that an inter-annual comparison to January 2021 reveals that there has been a 5% increase in the quantity of exported products and a 38% increase in the value.

The volcanic eruptions which began on April 9, 2021 followed by 32 other explosions forced the evacuation of some 30,000 people from their homes, most of them farmers.

Many of these farmers lost crops due to the ashfall on their land, compelling the government to declare a food security emergency. The State provided economic assistance to small farmers and hired tractors to plow the land to enable crops to be sown again.

 The country received the support and solidarity of organisations and governments from the Americas and other parts of the world. Among them, Minister of Agriculture. Saboto Caesar recognized the importance of the support of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture to rapidly revive production and guarantee food security.

 Agriculture in St Vincent and the Grenadines is largely in the hands of small, family farmers. Caesar indicated that the country has approximately 8,000 family holdings and 1,500 registered farmers and fisherfolk, respectively.

 The United States was the main destination for the country’s exports in 2022, which represented a value of more than $300,000.

Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados followed in second and third place. Other export destinations were Anguilla,the British Virgin Islands, Canada, France, Great Britain, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and Saint Martin.